Take a Walk

(Our hosts for this week's Fun Monday are Angela and the Lurchers . They want to go on one of our favorite walks. Why is it our favorite? What makes it interesting?)



My normal walk is quite beautiful at this time of the year with its green lawns and flowering trees and shrubs.--redbud, viburnum, dogwoods pink and white, crabapple, bradford pears, lilacs, flowering almond. And not a minute too soon to show off nature's best finery because next Saturday all eyes will be on Louisville for the greatest two minutes in horse racing, the Kentucky Derby.

The city will be filled with women--and men--sporting fantastical hats and outfits eager to see and be seen at all the celebrations for this annual rite of spring. The city, and the 'burbs where I live, always looks its best for the first Saturday in May, making people want to come back year after year.

Willie the pit bull and I march through this neighborhood every day. I'm working on my pack leadership skills and he's learning to follow. In previous posts I've written about my struggles, and partial successes, in transforming Willie from a willful, aggressive dog to a credit for his breed. I credit this practice of structured walking for our accomplishments. The neighborhood is our classroom and right now it's a beautiful one that includes three small semi-wild parks.

Here's the routine. We get out of bed, not talking to each other. I lace up my walking shoes and tamp down some bad "bedhead" hair with a splash of water. Willie runs to the backdoor and sits to get his slip collar on. I go out the door and gate first, he follows. We book it for a couple of blocks with minimal opportunities for sniffing and leaving pee-mails. I don't wait and he has to keep up. We pass where the two border collies live. . .one chained to a dog house, then by the rottweilers, and the German shepherds behind a privacy fence. They bark. Willie keeps walking. Near the end of the walk we head into the parks. I loosen the leash and Willie gets to go all doggy. If we're lucky his friend Cooper, the yellow lab, will be waiting at the fence to chat a few minutes. When we get home, I take his leash off, look him in the eyes and tell him he's a Good Boy. And, of course, Good Boys always get a milkbone and beggin' strip to enjoy on the sofa while he rests and catches up on the morning news.

Now head on over to Angela and the Lurchers to check out the favorite Fun Monday walks. And, I hope you'll come back to Louisville next Saturday for the Kentucky Derby.

(P.S. I use the dog walking techniques taught by Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer from the National Geographic Channel. If you would like to learn more about the importance of the walk in building a good partnership with your dog and see some photo illustrations go to Dog Walking .)

Well Done!

(Our host for this week's Fun Monday, Southern Doll ,invites us to share a few of our most meaningful life accomplishments. What have we done that was worth doing? What did we learn? Who did we influence? What was the impact?)


Here's the list of five accomplishments that I always think of when I'm in a reflective navel gazing mood. These experiences have helped me understand both myself and others a lot better, in addition to bringing me great happiness and satisfaction.

From 1971-74 I was a Peace Corps Volunteer on St. Kitts, a small island in the West Indies. I was a classroom teacher at St. Joseph Infant School teaching 7-9 year olds in the capital city of Basseterre. My dog Virgil and I lived in a little grey cinder block house on the outskirts of Basseterre by the Caribbean Sea. In the mornings I walked down to the sea to buy fish for us from the fishermen when they brought in their catch at dawn. My teacher colleagues and the women of the neighborhood befriended me, teaching me to shop the open air markets and cook the local foods, and deal with tradesmen. On the week-end I joined other Peace Corps Volunteers and the locals at dances in the country where we danced all night to the insistent reggae rhythms of the steel drums. I learned what it was like to live in a totally different culture and, in that instance, be the minority for a change.


Dog Rescue--for a Fun Monday earlier this year Tiggerlane asked about our Bucket List. I went back and looked at that post to see what I'd said about getting involved with dog rescue. Well, I'm happy to report that since then I've built up a bit of good dog karma by working with several different rescue organizations to transport dogs from area shelters to rescue groups so they can be re-homed. My Toyota Scion xB, aka "bread truck", holds two large crates and a co-pilot if necessary. Since the beginning of '08 I've helped rescue three almost wild Great Pyrenees pups; two border collies; a red heeler; and a geriatric, starving, diabetic toy poodle. Since most of you Fun Monday people are either dog or cat lovers I don't even need to go into how much satisfaction--and peace of mind--I get from this work.

Hospice--two years ago when I first retired after over 35 years in the workforce I was rather numb, just wanting to retreat and get away from all demands on my time and being. That was fine for about a year, and then I decided that I could do a bit better--so I trained to be a hospice family support volunteer. I chose hospice because I knew the service that this organization performs for families as they struggle with end of life issues. I know that I too may need their help in the future with my own family. So, I'm always on call to sit with a patient while the care giver gets out of the house to do some needed errands, take a break, or do something as simple as go to church. Mostly I listen--to the patient and the caregiver and answer sometimes hard questions about the implications of being in hospice care. I have witnessed small acts of love and grace among family members such as with my current family. The elderly husband is caring for his 85 lb. wife who is listed as "failing to thrive." He never fails to kiss her tenderly when he leaves the house and returns. We should all be that lucky to have such devotion.

Back to Basics Fitness Boot Camp--after a lifetime of avoiding all forms of physical exercise, my dear friend Sally and I signed up for a physical fitness program that--no overstatement for me--was life changing. I was in my mid-50s at the time. This class was taught by young woman who was a drill sergeant in the US Army. Sergeant Rouse had seen action in Kosovo and Saudi Arabia and was currently serving in the Army Reserves while working full time and rearing two small daughters.

We met Sergeant Rouse five days a week, rain or shine, from 6-7:00 a.m. at a local park. We came dressed in the regulation uniform. At 6 a.m. sharp she gave the "fall-in" command. We got ourselves in the extended rectangular formation for 30 minutes of hard exercise--push-ups, sit-ups, side straddle hops, mountain climbers, T-bones, squats, lunges to name a few. After about 30 minutes of physical training we ran--speed, cadence, sprint drills, or intervals. Oh yes, if anyone showed up late for class, we all did extra push-ups or running. I have never been healthier, stronger or more in control of all parts of my life than during the three years in Sergeant Rouse's class. In fact, Sally and I were in such good condition that we completed an 85 mile walk across England. Not bad for us, right?

Summit Musings Blog--in May I'll have my first year blog anniversary. Although it's very much a work in progress, I'm very proud of how far it's come, with the excellent tech support of my personal Geek Squad. I love the creative writing process, but have a long running aversion to technology--last hold out at work to get a Blackberry or cell phone for example--but the Geek Squad has helped with all that. Now I'm so interested in the virtual friendships I've made with people all over the U.S. and beyond--like all you Fun Monday participants and others. What a great challenge and diversion to keep building this blog.

Now head on over to Southern Doll and give other Fun Monday participants a "pat on the back" comment for a job well done. I'm headed there now.

Great Dog Gardeners

(The Nekked Lizards are hosts of this week's Double Nickel 5&5 Fun Monday. And yes, we got off easy. They just want us to share five pictures and describe the picture action with five words--period! I can do that and even follow the rules.)


As mentioned in previous posts, I've had a chance to visit some wonderful public and private gardens in several countries. Fortunately, most gardeners are also great dog fanciers, so here's five of my favorite dogs and their gardens:

1. Guarding Villa Gamberaia Gardens Florence, Italy

2. "Violet" at Lakemount Gardens Glanmire, Ireland


3. Alsace-Lorraine Barge Dogs Savernne, France

4. Hortensia House Gardens Yorkie Blenheim, New Zealand

5. Alessandro! Doggone Handsome Garden Designer Tuscany

Well, that was easy. Hope you enjoyed this little dogs around the world tour. Now head over to Nekked Lizards to check out all the other Fun Monday Double Nickels.

(Hint: if, for example, you want to get a close up look at Alessandro to decide for yourself just how handsome he is, just click on the photos to enlarge.)

An Athlete & Gentleman

(Our host for this week's Fun Monday, Jo Beaufoix , wants us to share a celebrity crush--who, what, when, where, and why? This is a great post topic because, hopefully, we're never too old to have a "thing" for someone who's out of reach of our everyday lives. Most recently I could talk about my admiration for Cesar Millan of Dog Whisperer fame. Or, I could travel back in time to the 90s when I watched "An Officer and a Gentleman" with Richard Gere enough times to know the lines. I could also go back even further to the 80s when I loved Neil Diamond enough to sleep outside on the sidewalk all night long in a line to buy concert tickets. Instead, I just happen to have a close association with a true celebrity--New York Yankees baseball pitcher Steve Hamilton--that you may enjoy.)

I grew up in the Appalachian Mountains, the daughter of a coal miner and sharecropper, in the 1950-60s. My family could have been the one whose photographs you now see in documentaries about rural poverty. I never traveled further than an adjoining county until I was a senior in high school. I was the youngest of four children and, unlike my older brothers and sisters, desperately wanted an education from an early age. I wanted an education enough to work for it throughout my high school years by babysitting and housekeeping for several good families who took an interest in me and helped me overcome many obstacles to stay in school. I firmly believe that I was born at the right time, the youngest in my family, when there were resources available to help anyone interested get an education.

When the time came to enroll in college, I chose Morehead State University which was about a 120 miles from home. It was the only college I knew about through school counselors and the families that I was working for who helped me jump the hurdles to get in. I took out student loans and moved on campus prepared to work part-time as well. Even then it was a stretch to pay my college expenses.

Before the end of my freshman year (1964) my luck turned. One family that I'd worked for in high school wrote letters to several of her friends who were associated with the university. She explained that this kid was enrolling at Morehead and needed to work--and could use a friend or two. Steve Hamilton, the university baseball coach in the off-season, lived with his wife Shirley and their three young children in Morehead. However, he was away from home for more than half the year pitching for the New York Yankees. They were looking for someone to help Shirl with the children and household while he was away playing baseball. The first time I worked for them I kept the children while Shirl visited Steve when the Yankees were playing in Detroit. From the beginning we clicked. Shirl and I were just ten year's difference in age and shared many interests. I loved the children, especially the baby Bobby.

By the end of my freshman year the Hamiltons had invited me to live with them. During the school year I went to my classes and activities, their children attended the university elementary school. That meant we all had the same schedule. For three straight years, Steve rented a summer house for us near Yankee Stadium--actually just across the George Washington Bridge in Teaneck, Hackensack, and Cloister, New Jersey. Shirl and I packed up the station wagon and kids and drove from Kentucky to New Jersey to join him for the summer.

Those summers were some of the happiest in my memory. When the Yankees were in town, Steve kept a regular schedule, eating an early dinner with us and then heading to the stadium for late afternoon and evening games. We hung out with other Yankee families, attended baseball games, swam and shopped. Steve and Shirl also made it a point to broaden my horizons. I remember especially seeing my first Broadway play, Funny Girl with Streisand, riding a NY subway, seeing the ocean for the first time.

Did I mention that Steve was a true gentleman as well as athlete? This was very fortunate for a 19 year old college girl in his care. Since Steve was considered by Yankee management to be the most steady and upright of the players, he often was assigned to room with the young rookies because he could help them keep on track and not get carried away with the glamour of being a professional athlete. If he thought they were nice and appropriate dating material, they may get an invitation to dinner with the family. A welcome home-cooked meal prepared by Shirl and me and some lively conversation--always when Steve was around--may lead to me being asked out by a grateful young rookie. Gil Blanco, a nineteen year old pitcher from Phoenix, AZ in 1965, fit this category. Perhaps he could have been my second celebrity crush, but we only had two dates that short summer. . .

Steve was a true Renaissance man interested in many things in addition to sports. He played both professional baseball for the Yankees and several other national league teams. He also played two years for the Minneapolis Lakers, one of only two professional athletes to play in both a World Series and an NBA Championship Series. He died of cancer at the age of 63 in 1998. On learning of his death, the great Yogi Berra said of him "He was a big, herky-jerky guy and a fun guy to be with. He kept you loose and everything." I know he had a great deal of influence on me. How fortunate I am to be an adopted family member of the Hamiltons for over 40 years. This photo was taken in the mid-80s---Steve and I are doing something we did often, sitting at the table talking and laughing. Wherever Steve was, there would be laughter.

Now that Jo is no longer under construction, pop over to her web page and check out other Fun Monday celebrity crushes. That's where I'm headed now.

Golden Days. . .Leaden Days

(Our host for this week's Fun Monday Robin the Pensieve One invites us to share our favorite quotes and words that inspire us. I looked back over past year calendars and journals and found that there was a definite theme in the words/quotes that inspired me enough to write them down and, therefore, remember. The theme is that our life moves in cycles and learning to understand and accept this certainty helps us to deal with the changes and challenges that come our way.)

". . .cycling through circumstances, golden days and leaden ones." The day last August when I saw this wonderful painting was a golden one. The plan was for a carload of good friends to head out to the country for a picnic after they got off work at noon. Since I'm the retiree of the group with time on my hands, I was in charge of ordering up a catered--notice I didn't say cooking--lunch, including benedictine sandwiches and brownies. For the non-southern readers, benedictine filling is a delicious concoction of cream cheese and grated cucumber, tinted the palest green and spread on whole wheat bread. Our destination was the Smith Berry Winery and Amyx Art Gallery about a 45 minute drive out of Louisville.

When we arrived at the winery we set up our picnic under this grapevine covered pergola. We had the place all to ourselves except for Rose (appropriately name for the resident winery dog) who was willing to share our benedictine sandwiches. After lunch we went through a special exhibit of all dog paintings by the artist Betsy Hall. Each of us "picked" the one that we'd take home (for me that would have been Night Sky Border Collie) if money were no object. We closed out the golden day with some wine sampling and purchases and made the return drive over beautiful country roads, laughing and talking over each other all the way.

Unfortunately, all days can't be golden. Things happen to us, or to those that we love, that are really bad. Sometimes we're on top of the world and at other times the world is on top of us--or so it seems. In order to get through these good and bad times without losing equilibrium, I take the advice of life coach Victoria Moran when she suggests: "Just about everything that happens on earth comes to pass and not to stay. Circumstances do not deserve to have a hold on you, because they're already headed out of town and you're not going anywhere." Moran further cautions that it's easy for us to lose sight of the cyclic way of things, that we've been through hard times and survived, sometimes even triumphed. She says that when we hit a roadblock we just need to remember: "This isn't the end of the story. It's just a twist in the plot."

Rena Pederson, editor of the Dallas Morning News, sums up this challenge in her book, What's Next? Women Redefining Their Dreams in the Prime of Life: "Life is about reinventing and revising. You have to decide how to spend your days, because in the end that is how you will have spent your life." In other words, the real power comes from being able live out the golden and leaden days, knowing that we need both for a rich and enjoyable life.

Now head on over to Robin for some other Fun Monday participants' words to live by.

Foxy and Mr. Vargas

(Our host for this week's Fun Monday is Swampy . Long time Fun Monday participants understand that, in Swampy's book, rules are made just to be broken. However, for the good children who must follow the rules, our assignment is to create an ABC listing of anything that interests us or may potentially amuse our readers. So, here's my ABC's for living with and loving dogs.)

I've looked at this photo of Foxy the loyal pit bull almost daily after reading about her and Mr. Vargas in the New York Times in March '07. You can read the full story at Foxy the Pit Bull . Briefly though, Foxy and Mr. Vargas were homeless and lived together on the streets of Hoboken, NJ. He rescued her from a life of abuse with another homeless man. She paid him back by giving him purpose, companionship, and love. Mr. Vargas cared more for Foxy than he did for himself. She got sweatshirts in the winter, an umbrella shelter from the rain, off leash runs at a dog park, and vet care.

I look at this photo to remind me of the great relationship we can have with our dogs if we're willing to put in the time and love. Our dogs never fail to do their part. In my adult life I've lived with a crazy border collie, a bossy chow mix, a golden retriever lump of sugar and a pit bull like Foxy. Based on my experiences with each of them, here's my ABC's for living with and loving dogs:

Affection -- part of the formula for a balanced dog, comes after Exercise and Discipline

Boundaries -- dogs, especially strong breeds, must be taught what they are allowed to do

Consistency -- there are no off days in being your dog's leader, they thrive on routine

Discipline -- NEVER by hitting or physically man-handling, but by calm assertive energy and tone

Exercise -- dogs of all breeds and sizes must have daily activity--a tired dog is a good dog

Followthrough -- relates to consistency, if you want a certain behavior you must make it happen

Good -- there are no "good" or "bad" dogs--only dogs that have, or have not, received leadership

Help -- read books, watch TV shows, attend classes to better understand and train your dog

Intelligent -- try not to get a dog smarter than you are--that includes border collies for most of us!

Jumping --on anyone is a show of excitement or dominance by your dog, not happiness--don't allow it

Kindness -- is different from indulgence. Kindness is keeping your dog balanced with exercise, discipline and affection. Indulgence leads to an anxious, demanding or aggressive dog.

Leadership -- is what your dog wants you show him --then he doesn't have to take on that responsibility. However, if you don't he will.

Males -- are not necessarily harder to train/lead

No -- is most effective when said in a low, firm voice--not a scream

Old -- our dog's life span is never as long as we would wish

Pets -- provide purpose, friendship and happiness for many of us

Quirky -- a good name for a border collie

Rescue --there are so many homeless and abused dogs who need us--do what you can to help

Sofa -- hopefully your decor allows dogs to share your living space--remember that they miss you and want to be around you whenever possible

Toenails -- regular trims can show your dog that you're in charge, not him

Ugly -- there's no such thing as an ugly dog

Volunteer -- help your local animal shelters or rescue groups--build up some dog karma

Walk -- the most primal bond that you can have with your dog--goes a long way in preventing a lot of behavior problems and establishes you as the leader. I like to use a shorter slip leash and keep Willie close by my side for most of the walk.

X factor -- we have the major influence in what kind of dog we'll get from a sweet puppy

Years -- a good dog never has enough years with us

Zzzzs -- dogs make great bedfellows, if you can get around the snoring and hogging of most of the bed space--they don't get the king bed concept.

There you have it--one person's ABC's of dog ownership. Now head on over to Swampy's for some more interesting lists.

Book Fetishes

I had promised to show you some more Irish gardens after my Fun Monday post. However, I think a bit of a delay would whet your appetite so look for more Irish travels/gardening near the end of week. In the meantime, let's talk about books. Karen posted this meme recently to help us explore our book love.

She wants us to answer these questions:

1. Hardcover or paperback, and why? Neither. I love softback books because they're still the right size and I can markup without guilt.

2. If I were to own a book shop I would call it. . . Stacks--that's what I like to see in every one's home--stacks of books to be read and re-read.

3. My favorite quote from a book is. . . "The life of a good dog is like the life of a good person, only shorter and more compressed." in Good Dog. Stay. by Anna Quindlen. This quote pretty much sums up how a dog lover feels.

4. The author (alive or deceased) I would love to have lunch with would be. . . Alice Steinbach, author of Without Reservations--The Travels of an Independent Woman and Educating Alice--Adventures of a Curious Woman. Steinbach was a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for the Baltimore Sun who gave up that job for a time to travel solo in Europe and Asia learning about the world and her own self.

5. If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except the SAS survival guide, it would be. . . a huge blank journal. Perfect place to write my own story.

6. I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that . . . this is stolen from someone else, but how about an invisible button that you could press to define words as you read. Exactly what does sanguine mean? It keeps coming up. . .

7. The smell of an old book reminds me of . . . our public libraries. They're the pits and we just voted to not upgrade them in the last general election.

8. If I could be the lead character in a book (mention title) it would be . . . easy peasy, that would be Miss Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. Love her beauty, intelligence and sense of humor--as did Mr. Darcy. . .sigh.

9. The most overestimated book of all time is. . . anything from the Oprah Book Club. I can choose my own reading, thank you very much.

10. I hate it when a book. . . favorite author cranks out too many books--I become suspicious that the main goal is making money.

Now, it's your turn to reveal some of your book fetishes.